


Ponds

by Mistflyer1102



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Foreshadowing, Gen, Humor, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 21:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14363808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistflyer1102/pseuds/Mistflyer1102
Summary: A case of mistaken identity leads to a warning.





	Ponds

_There is no telling how much longer we will be here._

Anakin Skywalker remained silent as he surveyed the surrounding terrain, land that had once been an expansive grassy prairie dotted with villages until the Separatists had laid waste to it. There had been no provocation--Helios Six had been neutral--and it had been sheer chance that the Republic forces, led by Master Windu, had discovered that the Separatists had been laying foundations and groundwork of a few droid factories in the sparsely populated regions of the planet. Windu had requested for reinforcements, and once the 501st arrived, the overall campaign lasted exactly a week.

Anakin studied the holomap before him as he waited for an updated casualty count. He stood by a makeshift table that had a holomap of the planet, shades of green and red marking the regions that had suffered severe damage. Windu stood on the other side of the table with Commander Ponds, the latter of whom was doing a fantastic job of not showing his impatience to get going with the campaign. Captain Rex was at Anakin’s side, handling the wait ten times better than Anakin as he studied his datapad screen. Around them, refugees of numerous species remained huddled close together in one of few camps that the Republic had set up to allow easy distribution of what relief supplies that both legions still had with them. Anakin didn’t say as much, but he continued to keep a close eye on numbers, aware that Windu was doing the same. Dwindling numbers belied the increasing severity of the situation.

Yet, they could not leave.

The governor of Helios Six had been rather insistent that at least the Republic clean up the damage that they had left behind. Anakin was still bewildered by the man’s announcement that he would send a ‘fearsome enforcer’ to ensure and oversee the cleanup itself. Anakin would have dismissed the governor’s words as an empty threat if... _things_ hadn’t started happening. Every morning, gunship engines were found removed and scattered in pieces across nearby fields outside the camps. Rocks and other debris constantly found a way into pipes and coolant lines. Just a few mornings ago, Anakin discovered that someone had removed the astromech socket in his Delta fighter, and he still hadn’t recovered it yet.

The campaign may have lasted a week, but they were already into Week Two of cleanup. And trying to catch a seemingly nonexistent saboteur.

“We may have to contact Coruscant soon and get approval from the Senate to leave a garrison here to continue the cleanup,” Windu finally said, leaning back on a foot as the holographic map of the planet continued to populate with red-shaded areas that still needed attention. “There was already a stretch of Republic personnel and resources before two entire legions were tied up, and reports indicate that the Separatists are starting to push back on the Outer Rim,” he said, brow furrowing as he pressed a few controls on the table to change the display.

“The Senate may take longer than we can afford to make that decision,” Anakin warned, looking down to avoid the slight frown he knew that Windu sent his way. He bit back the instinctive _‘we will need to contact the Council’_ and instead said, “In the meantime, we will need to figure out an alternative method until one or both of us can leave Helios Six.”

Windu didn’t immediately respond, just pulled up another holomap. “We should also talk to the governor and confirm that his so-called ‘fearsome enforcer’ is the saboteur we’ve been dealing with, just to eliminate the possibility of a new Separatist threat,” he said finally, leaning on the table to study a line of text near the bottom of the table. “Skywalker, how about you send--”

“Ponds!”

Windu abruptly looked up at the shout, and then immediately turned to his startled commander: Anakin blinked, but before he could ask Rex, they heard another shout of “Ponds!” from the same speaker.

Bewildered, he looked around the camp for the speaker, noting the confusion--and relief?--from nearby refugees.

“ _Ponds!”_

“What the…” Windu slowly began as his commander turned in bewilderment to the direction of the shouts.

Anakin looked up as well, confused to see a tall, gangly human male barreling through the camp towards them. He was definitely not one of the refugees or possibly even from Helios Six: he wore a white shirt with fabric tied around his neck, and dark gray trousers, the latter of which was held up by two strips of fabric that went around his shoulders. His tan coat flapped behind him as he picked his way through the crowd, apologizing as he went along. “Ponds! Where are you--whoops, sorry, so sorry, didn’t see your foot there,” the man said as he nearly pitched forward, arms flailing, but Anakin still felt wary. Something about the man didn’t feel quite right.

As soon as the man made it to the center, where the Jedi stood, he barreled straight for Commander Ponds, who had apparently raised a hand. “Ponds!” the man said, clapping his hands on Ponds’s shoulders. Then the man paused, tilted his head, and said, “Oh, wait, you’re not Ponds. Well, yes, you are, but you’re not _my_ Ponds, there’s two of them, you see, and--”

“Can we help you, sir?” Windu interrupted, a faint edge of annoyance audible in his voice.

The man released Commander Ponds and turned, clapping his hands together. “Ah, yes, you must be Jedi Master Mace Windu of the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps, of course you are. I have heard quite a bit about you,” he said, walking from Commander Ponds towards Windu. “Yes, actually, I do have a message from Governor Taros. He commends both you and Knight Skywalker for your diligence in your work so far cleaning up after the whole battle, rather messy affair, wouldn’t you say? He also would like a timeline--”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Windu interrupted, brow furrowing slightly.

The man paused, glanced at Anakin, and then back at Windu. “I am the Doctor. Nothing more, nothing less. Governor Taros is an old friend of mine, he asked that I just drop in and check to make sure that cleanup is going smoothly, which it looks like it is—” he said, turning on a heel as he looked around, clapping his hands together.

“ _You’re_ the ‘fearsome enforcer’?” Anakin asked before he could stop himself.

The Doctor blinked at him, and then made a face. “Oh, is that what he’s calling me now? I told him not to call me that yet—”

“Not _yet,_ Raggedy Man, you haven’t,” a female voice unexpectedly growled.

The Doctor’s face lit up as Anakin and Rex both turned to the speaker. “Pond!” the Doctor cried in delight as he bounded forward, ignoring Windu’s sound of protest as he jumped onto the holo-projector to get closer to a female human standing near the edge of the makeshift clearing. She was bundled in a ragged blanket, red hair hanging in scraggly bits as green eyes narrowed at the Doctor.

“You. Left. Us. Here,” she growled as the Doctor nearly crashed into her.

“And here I am, looking for you and other Pond, who seems to have gone for a bit of wander,” the Doctor said before turning back to Windu and Anakin. “See, I tell them not to wander off every single time yet here we are!”

“Are you the saboteur that we’ve been dealing with for the past week?” Windu asked, ignoring the Doctor’s earlier comment.

The Doctor shook his head. “No, no, no, I’ve been a little too busy for that. Well, almost. Maybe. But that’s not the immediate problem. I am missing someone, a man yay-high, sort of blond reddish hair, he’s a nurse, so he may have walked off to help…”

“Doctor, this is a restricted area,” Windu said bluntly, folding his arms across his chest. Anakin glanced at Rex and mouthed ‘Check with Kix’, to which Rex nodded and moved away as he pulled his comlink out. “Either answer the question and get to your point or move along.”

“I really need to find other Pond,” the Doctor said, turning on a heel to turn to Windu. “And I’m in bit of a rush, I may have left a battlefield behind in order to collect my companions. We’re actually in the middle of—”

Anakin took a few steps back from the table, catching Rex’s eye and tilting his head to indicate the captain to follow him. He pulled out his datapad as he walked over to the redhead, ‘Pond’, if he recalled correctly. She was still frowning with a pursed mouth as she seemed to step away from the Doctor. Anakin waited until Rex was behind him before approaching her, gently clearing his throat to catch her attention. She jumped, startled, and then blinked when she saw Anakin there.

“Oh, hi, can I help you?” she asked, brushing a few strands of tangled red hair behind an ear. Rex coughed when she nearly dropped the blanket in an effort to straighten her clothes.

Anakin inclined his head, pretending not to notice the sudden spike of interest from her as she studied him. Her presence felt clearer, less threatening to him than the Doctor’s, which piqued his curiosity, but at the same time, he could sense that she was not entirely harmless either. “Hello, Madam Pond. I am General Skywalker, and I wanted to talk to you about your missing husband, I think I can help you,” he said patiently, and the woman nodded, focusing entirely on him. He also ignored Rex’s growing amusement even though he knew, without looking, that the captain was expressionless as he always was during conversations with civilians. “You mentioned that he is around here, correct? If you can describe him, I can send out an alert to my men and we can keep an eye out for him,” he asked.

“Yeah, we were together until someone was asking around for volunteers, he’s a nurse, er, has medical experience,” she said, glancing back across the camp. “It was someone wearing armor similar to his, with the blue,” she said, turning back and pointing at Rex. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch the guy’s name, he was moving quickly and I didn’t want to slow him down. Rory, my husband, just said he’d be right back and followed the guy. That happened in the morning,” she said, looking back at Anakin. She tilted her head and said, “And it’s Amelia, I don’t mind if you call me that.”

Anakin nodded. “Thank you, the armor color narrows it down. Was it near here, or in another camp?” he asked, thinking quickly. Last he checked, Windu’s men had one medic stationed in this camp, and the 501st just had Kix and Bruiser here. If it was another camp, he would have to check with Rex on who they had stationed where.

Amelia looked embarrassed. “I actually don’t know, that was the other day and I went looking for him when he didn’t come back at nightfall. I was also looking for _him_ , and figured he’d be at the center of whatever was going on, and he would be able to help me too,” she said, irritation creeping into her voice as she jabbed a thumb in the Doctor’s direction.

Anakin glanced over, and had to fight back a smile to see the look of irritation on Master Windu’s face. The Doctor wasn’t going to last long, going on about ‘wartime responsibilities’ the way he was. “Yeah...he’s an interesting character,” Anakin said after a moment, looking back at her. “But he just showed up--well, I think you saw, you were here. Might take a few minutes to pry him away from whatever riveting conversation he’s having right now,” he said, turning back to Amelia, who was raising an eyebrow at her friend. “Although, I am curious...has he been the one messing around with the ships here--I’m not angry, I’m just wondering,” he said, quickly clarifying his point when she eyed him suspiciously.

She shrugged. “Honestly, it sounds like something he would do if he wanted to get your attention, but I don’t know if he did it this time. Haven’t seen him for a few days, he left us, me and my husband, behind when he last took off somewhere,” she said, leaning back on a foot as she eyed the Doctor.

Her husband. Right, Anakin meant to locate her husband. “What is your husband’s full name?” he asked, pulling up the relevant screen on the datapad. He could comm it in, but this way, he could get Windu’s medics at the same time.

“Rory Pond. He’s around my height, light colored hair, blue eyes, had a green jacket with him,” she said, leaning back on a foot as Anakin entered the details into the datapad. She tilted her head, and then glanced back at him. “So what will happen once we find him?”

“I’ll ask if the medics can spare someone to escort him here, you don’t need to go anywhere,” he said, glancing at her before sending the message out.

Amelia nodded, and then said, “Thank you.”

Anakin didn’t respond, just inclined his head. “Is there anything else we can do to assist you?” he asked, looking back at her.

She hesitated, and said, “Well, if you can’t pry the Doctor away right now, then no, not really.”

Anakin nodded, not quite ready to interrupt a meeting when Master Windu started to get tetchy. He then said, “Very well then. Please excuse us, Captain Rex and I will be around if you need anything.” He then tucked the datapad away before gesturing Rex to follow him. He then spotted Artoo hovering near the entrance to the small clearing, and gestured for the astromech to wait for him. He hoped Artoo located the droid socket for the Delta, at which point Anakin could start working on replacing that in the fighter.

“Wait, I actually have another question!”

Anakin signaled Rex to go ahead without him, and then he turned back to Amelia. “Yes?”

She pursed her lips, glanced at the Doctor and Master Windu, and then walked over to where Anakin stood. She hesitated, and then said in a soft voice, “I know you introduced yourself as General Skywalker, but you’re _Anakin_ Skywalker, right?”

Anakin blinked, almost having missed the question. “Yes...who else would I be?” he asked, offering a half-smile as he turned to face her.

Amelia merely shrugged, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. “I, um, just thought to double-check, I mean, it’s just that I was wondering because, um, reasons,” she said, looking up at him as he drew back to avoid colliding into her. “Very...inconsequential...reasons.”

Anakin frowned, trying to quash the tiny niggling of suspicion in his gut as the woman shuffled her feet in the dirt, but he could still not detect any threats from her. No, if anything, there was an uptick of interest in the Force from her companion, which made Anakin wary. He was used to people hunting him down, but here in the middle of a refugee camp was not the place for a fight. He shifted his posture even as he smiled at the woman, his hand falling near his lightsaber. “Is everything all right? Was there something else that I can help you with?” he asked, voice dropping as he shifted some attention to the Doctor.

Amelia was quiet for a moment, and then she jabbed her thumb in the Doctor’s direction. “Um, sort of...maybe? He can see the future,” she said, her voice lowering. Anakin suspected that no one else could hear the two of them, but he would not be surprised if the Doctor had sharper hearing than considered normal for a human. As far as he was aware, non-Force sensitive humans did not see visions of future events, but the rules were different for different species, and if the Doctor was not human, Anakin would not be surprised.

“The future?” he repeated, frowning a bit.

She nodded. “This war...it’s all a front. The Sith...I think that’s what they’re called, they’re manipulating the whole thing. That’s why the war is at a stalemate right now. Because the Sith want it to be,” she said, looking up at him. “And the war is at a stalemate because the leader wants to get some of his, er, pawns into a better position.”

Anakin frowned, and glanced at Windu, who was still arguing with the Doctor. “Where did you get that information?” he asked, his frown deepening a bit.

She jerked her chin in the direction of the Doctor. “I told you, he knows things. And usually he can’t shut up about it, but he won’t talk to you or your friend directly about it. But...you’re really nice and I’m worried that the Sith are going to win, which is not going to end well for you,” she said, glancing up at him.

Anakin nodded. He figured as much, given the whole fuss over the ‘Chosen One’ business. If the Jedi believed it, then the Sith would most likely as well as a precaution if anything. The Force, however, continued to ring true with her words. “Well, I appreciate the warning, I’ll be careful to watch my step,” he said, offering what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he started to step away again.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake--”

Anakin had about a second warning before Amelia grabbed his elbow and pulled him back to face her. He sensed a flare of alarm from the Doctor, and he kept his attention on the Doctor in case of a threat, but he kept his hands at his side and allowed Amelia to pull him so that they were nearly touching noses. “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go if you’re _not_ careful with that Sith,” she said irritably, voice dropping again. Anakin tilted his head to hear her better. “Listen carefully. Don’t panic, but I know that you’re married even though it’s against the rules because the Doctor told me,” she whispered quickly.

Padmé. Anakin felt his blood run cold. But Amelia plowed on in a quick whisper before he could react. “But I also know that you love her very, very much. But someone else, who is close to you but is _not_ your official former teacher, is going to betray you to the dark side of the Force. As a result, you will fall, and she will die. My suggestion is to root out the Sith before he manipulates you right into where he wants you to be. Because I know what is going to happen, and--”

“Pond!”

Anakin silently swore in Huttese as the Doctor bounded over to the two of them, Amelia backing away from Anakin before the Doctor could crash into them. “Pond, I was just thinking that we should go and find other Pond now, Master Windu and I have reached common ground in terms of cleanup and I just remembered that we owe Ambassador Organa-Solo a quick visit before we leave for home. Or at least try to, the TARDIS has been acting finicky recently--”

“That ship is _always_ acting finicky. I have been late to work more than once,” Amelia interrupted, scowling before she gestured to Anakin. “Besides, I already asked him about Rory,and we’re not going _anywhere_ until we find Rory…”

Rex coughed, catching their attention. “I apologize for the interruption, sirs, but Kix did just mention to me that there is a civilian who volunteered to help them in the tents,” he said, glancing first at Anakin, then the Doctor before turning to Amelia.

“Excellent! I still need to make sure that my ship has been left alone, but we’ll head over there soon enough” the Doctor said, shifting to face Anakin. Up close, Anakin could definitely see that there was something...different about the Doctor. Something that put Anakin on edge. The Doctor had a smile as he turned to face Anakin, but Anakin still caught the warning, the glint in the other’s eye. Mindful of their surroundings, Anakin held the other’s gaze for a few seconds, but kept his hand down and away from his lightsaber, and his guard up.

Then, as soon as it had appeared, the glint seem to vanish. “That being said, my point is we should probably move along now. I’ll check on my ship while Pond stays with her husband. I hope you all left it alone, it’s a tall, blue box, says ‘Police’ on it even though I am not police,” the Doctor said, pressing his fingertips together. “Of course, for all I know it might just have white gibberish on the top, I don’t know if she can translate Aurebesh,” he said after a moment, frowning. He then turned to his companion. “Pond, can you read the stuff around here?”

Amelia nodded, brow quirked into an odd expression. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Just checking! It’s been awhile since I’ve been out here, although I didn’t make it far into the Core last time and the place was using a specific dialect,” the Doctor said, patting Amelia on the shoulder. “Come along, Pond!”

Amelia glanced in Anakin’s direction, worry written across her features.

“Don’t worry, your husband is safe,” Anakin said, forcing what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Amelia nodded before turning on her heel to follow the Doctor.

Anakin watched her leave, his mind already returning to her warning. He was not surprised that the Sith were manipulating the war. Dooku’s warning, that his master was hiding in the high reaches of the Republic Senate, suddenly came to mind. That made sense: Anakin never missed the way the Separatists seemed to be able to keep pace with the Republic, resulting in the current stalemate. Sidious would want total control of the galaxy, so he would be sure to be on the winning side... _or the side with the most secure foothold and resources_. Add that to the other part of her warning, of an inevitable betrayal from someone close, not Obi-Wan, not  Padmé... _how far into the Senate did Sidious’s influence go?_ Someone who would betray him and hurt...

Anakin only knew of one person.

_It can’t be...the Council would have caught him by now if it was true, wouldn’t they?_

_The dark side clouds everything._

Yet, he _knew_ , deep to his bones, that Amelia had not lied to him once.

Anakin began to slowly walk back to the holo-table, sensing rather than seeing Rex fall into step beside him. He could sense that Windu was carefully regarding him, but Anakin chose to remain silent, unwilling to fuel the Jedi Master’s dislike of the Chancellor over a groundless allegation. Groundless, innocent until proven guilty.

But he wasn’t ready to gamble Padme’s life on that.

“Skywalker, what is it?”

He looked up at Windu, and shrugged a shoulder. “Nothing, Master. Just, um, thinking of something that Ms Pond told me,” he said, skirting as close to the truth as he dared. He hesitated, and said, “Something related to the war effort, something to follow up on to see if it’s as much of a threat as she made it out to be.”

Windu studied him for a few moments before nodding. “And you will tell the Council if it is severe enough?” he asked.

Anakin nodded, returning his attention to the table, trying to ignore the doubt that was slithering through his gut, doubt that had nothing to do with the Council. He took a steady breath, studying the landscape on the map. They couldn’t be out here forever. Soon, he would be home.

Then he could investigate further.

 

**Author's Note:**

> All characters belong to their respective owners.


End file.
